Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting
08/21/2007 - Brooklyn, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After two days of rain delays, Kurt Busch captured Tuesday's 3M Performance 400 at the Michigan International Speedway. The No.2 Penske Racing Dodge crossed the finish line 0.496 seconds ahead of Martin Truex Jr.
The victory was Busch's second of the season and 17th of his Nextel Cup career.
"It feels great to do it in the backyard of the manufacturers," said Busch. "We made some adjustments...Pat Tryson (crew chief), he's awesome. Thanks to everybody that's part of this race team."
The race began under yellow caution flag conditions because although the rain had stopped there was fog around the track. By lap 10 the race was red-flagged because the fog was so thick that the spotters couldn't see the track. Finally, on lap 13 the green flag dropped and the real racing began.
Greg Biffle went right around the outside of Jeff Gordon for the lead on the first green-flag lap and led through the first round of pit stops. Biffle's Roush Fenway Racing teammates were also on the move and both Carl Edwards (started 13th) and Matt Kenseth (started 21st) were inside the top-10.
On the stop, Gordon took only two tires to come out first, while Biffle came out third, behind Denny Hamlin as well.
The two-tire experiment seemed to work for the No.24 Chevy as he built a lead of more than one second by lap 40. However, as the green-flag run lengthened, Gordon began to fade back into the clutches of the field, now led by Jimmie Johnson. Johnson caught and passed Gordon on lap 49. A couple of laps later Kenseth and Brian Vickers also passed Gordon, so while the two-tire experiment worked for a time, it had only limited value.
Gordon continued to fall off, dropping seven seconds off the pace as the field neared the 60-lap mark. Johnson, Kenseth and Vickers were putting up fast laps and were more than three seconds ahead of fourth-place Busch and Edwards.
The three leaders exchanged the lead over the next few laps and their side-by- side "dogfight" allowed Busch to join the fray.
A round of green-flag pit stops began around lap 69 with Gordon one of the first to stop. This time he got four tires and fuel and away he went. When the stops were completed, Kenseth owned a two-second margin on Busch and Gordon was stuck back in 11th place.
Busch was trying to keep up with Kenseth, cutting the gap to 1.5 seconds, but he couldn't close up any further. The man on the move as they approached lap 90 was Dale Earnhardt Jr., who started last after a transmission problem, but cracked the top-10.
At the mid-point, it was still Kenseth and Busch at the top of the scoring pylon, but Gordon had rebounded to fifth with the help of a very quick pit stop. The No.24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet continued to march towards the leader, taking third place on lap 106.
Meanwhile, Busch got side-by-side with Kenseth as the No.2 Dodge stuck to the bottom of the track and grabbed the lead from Kenseth.
With clean air, Busch set a torrid pace and Kenseth couldn't keep up. By lap 125, Busch held a 2.657 second lead on Gordon, who had gotten underneath Kenseth for second.
Another round of green-flag pit stops and it was still Busch and Gordon showing the way. Busch's lead was 3.309 seconds with 60 laps remaining and still expanding. The margin was 5.431 seconds with just 35 laps to go.
Busch was in complete control, but there was still one more pit stop remaining. The leaders began to stop - first Vickers, then Kenseth. Gordon stopped with 34 to go and Busch shortly thereafter. Earnhardt Jr. overshot his pit and it cost him a number of positions, something he couldn't afford in his race for the "Chase."
With 25 laps to go, Busch's lead was 4.566 seconds on Johnson as Gordon fell to seventh after an extra long pit stop. But a debris caution flag set up a short shootout to the checkered flag.
The green flag dropped with 20 laps to go and Busch leading Gordon, Dave Blaney, Truex Jr. and Biffle. Hamlin and Johnson led a group that chose to get new rubber and they restarted sixth and seventh, respectively.
Busch got the jump on Gordon right at the start, while Truex Jr. beat Blaney for third. Fifteen laps to go and Busch's lead was 1.957 seconds over Truex Jr.. Hamlin and Johnson were also flying using their new tires to take third and fourth.
Busch still held more than one second as the laps dwindled to just 10. Then another caution flag as Kenseth got into the back of Gordon in turn four sending the No.24 spinning across the grass.
The race would restart with seven laps. Again Busch got a great jump. Johnson also got off well and he went down the backstretch side-by-side with Truex Jr. Truex Jr. fought him off and then took aim at Busch, who was a half second ahead of him.
A Biffle spin with two laps to go set up a green-white-checker finish. One more great start by Busch did it and he took his second win of the season. Busch led a race-high 92 laps.
Johnson, Kenseth and Hamlin completed the top-five.
In the "race-with-the-race" for the 12th and final playoff position, Busch holds a 163-point lead on Earnhardt Jr. and 171 on teammate Ryan Newman.
The next race is scheduled for Saturday night, August 25th at the Bristol Motor Speedway.
<< New Orleans Saints 2007 Season Preview
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Those predicting big things for the New Orleans Saints this
season should first consult the "The Saints have never..." file.
The Saints, who outlasted Carolina and Atlanta to take the NFC South in 2006,
have never won back
<< NCAA Football Preview - U-S-C Trojans
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) -
2006 SEASON IN REVIEW: The Trojans' reign over the Pac-10 continued
last
season, as Pete Carroll's powerhouse collected its fifth consecutive
conference
title. The Trojans marched into the '06 season
<< NCAA Football Preview - Washington Huskies
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) -
2006 SEASON IN REVIEW: In his second season at Washington, coach Tyrone
Willingham brought the Huskies to the next level, going from two wins in his
first year to five victories a year ago. The 2
<< NCAA Football Preview - Temple Owls
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) -
2006 SEASON IN REVIEW: Clearly the Owls are a work in progress, but the
prevailing thought in Philadelphia is that head coach Al Golden has them headed
in the right direction. Temple was not very go
Teen sensation Altidore earns MLS honor >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York forward Jozy Altidore was named Major
League Soccer's Player of the Week on Tuesday for his two-goal performance in
an epic 5-4 win over Los Angeles on Saturday.
The 17-year-old Altidore scored two
Bengals head coach to go under knife >>
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cincinnati Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis
will undergo surgery Wednesday to repair torn tendons in his left ankle.
The procedure will be performed by Dr. Jim Amis at Cincinnati's Good Samaritan
Hospital,
SEC - Can Florida repeat? >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - What does the SEC have to do for an
encore? The league won 39 of 49 non-conference games in 2006, winning 61% of
those vs. the other five BCS leagues. Florida led the way by disposing Ohio
State 41-14 in the
Vancouver signs Linden >>
Vancouver, BC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Vancouver Canucks signed veteran forward
Trevor Linden on Tuesday. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not
disclosed.
Linden tallied 12 goals and 13 assists in 80 games last season wit
MySportsbook.com Posts Heisman Trophy Odds
With 3,919 passing yards, 32 touchdowns and a mere seven interceptions last season, combined with a powerful South Bend Heisman legacy, odds makers at MySportsbook.com have given Notre Dame senior quarterback Brady Quinn the best Heisman Trophy odds at 5-2.
Quinn isn’t the only big man on campus this season. Oklahoma junior running back and 2004 Heisman runner-up Adrian Peterson, listed at 7-2, rushed for a combined 3,033 yards in his first two years as a college player and will give Quinn a run for his money.
This online sportsbook has also listed Troy Smith, Ohio State senior quarterback, as another strong favorite to win the 72nd Heisman Trophy. A 7-1 bet, Smith threw for 2,282 yards last season and also led the Buckeyes to a convincing 34-20 victory over Quinn and the Fighting Irish in last season’s Fiesta Bowl.
Current betting odds Heisman trophy are:
| Brady Quinn (QB, Notre Dame) Adrian Peterson (RB, Oklahoma) Troy Smith (QB, Ohio State) Michael Bush (RB, Louisville) Steve Slaton (RB, West Virginia) Brian Brohm (QB, Louisville) Chris Leak (QB, Florida) Mike Hart (RB, Michigan) Ted Ginn (WR, Ohio State) Darius Walker (RB, Notre Dame) Drew Tate (QB, Iowa) Marshawn Lynch (RB, Cal) Kenny Irons (RB, Auburn) Chad Henne (QB, Michigan) Kyle Wright (QB, Miami) Drew Stanton (QB, Michigan State) Kenneth Darby (RB, Alabama) JaMarcus Russell (QB, LSU) Drew Weatherford (QB, Florida State) Blake Mitchell (QB, South Carolina) Reggie Ball (QB, Georgia Tech) |
5-2 7-2 7-1 10-1 10-1 12-1 12-1 18-1 18-1 20-1 30-1 35-1 35-1 40-1 50-1 50-1 60-1 60-1 60-1 60-1 60-1 |
For complete NCAA Football odds visit MySportsbook.com.
In the wake of the news that the 49ers have signed receiver Michael Crabtree after an extended holdout, there has been not a hint of the dollars to be paid to Crabtree.
And since this means that his agent hasn't leaked the numbers, it means that his agent feels no specific motivation to do so.
Possibly because his agent isn't all that thrilled to have his name on the deal.
So the numbers will come from sources other than Crabtree's agent. And we've gotten our mitts into them.
Per a league source, Crabtree has signed a six-year, $32 million contract. (The total includes guaranteed money, base salaries, and the one-time incentive based on achieving minimum playing time.)
The deal also includes $17 million in guaranteed money.
As reported elsewhere, the deal can void to five years based on performance triggers, wiping out a final year base salary of $4 million. But they won't be easily reached.
The source tells us that, in his first four seasons (including 2009), Crabtree must either qualify for two Pro Bowls, or he must qualify for one Pro Bowl in one year and he must participate in 80 percent of the offensive snaps in a separate year in which the team makes the playoffs.
In other words, if in 2010 he qualifies for the Pro Bowl and the team makes the playoffs and he participates in 80 percent of the snaps, he'll still need to make it to the Pro Bowl or achieve the 80-percent/playoffs in another season.
Since the chances of Crabtree making the Pro Bowl or participating in 80 percent of the offensive snaps this year is roughly zero percent, he'll have three years to get it done.
And it won't be easy. Frankly, he'll be hard pressed to make it to one Pro Bowl in three years with the likes of Larry Fitzgerald, Calvin Johnson, Anquan Boldin, Steve Smith, the other Steve Smith, Hakeem Nicks, DeSean Jackson, Johnny Knox, Percy Harvin, Greg Jennings, Roddy White, T.J. Houshmandzadeh in the same conference for sportsbook betting.
So, by all appearances, it's a six-year deal. And at $17 million in guaranteed money, the per-year guarantee is a tepid $2.83 million per year.
There's another problem with the deal -- it has no mid-tier incentive package. Instead, the additional $8 million that Crabtree can earn (pushing the max value to six years, $40 million) requires the kind of unrealistic, mega-star performances that no rookie is likely to ever achieve.
So while the contract paid to Packers defensive tackle B.J. Raji covers five years and pays $22.5 million, he has the ability (if he's a solid player) to make up the difference between his base deal and Crabtree's five-year, $28 million haul via the mid-tier incentive package in Raji's deal.
And unless Crabtree meets the performance thresholds necessary to void the sixth year, he'll be stuck under contract for another year at a base salary of only $4 million.
There's one other area of concern with the deal. Crabtree, per the source, received no option bonus. Instead, he has significant money tied to a fairly new device known as a "discretionary salary advance," which unlike an opition bonus is subject to forfeiture if Crabtree decides in a year or two that he wants to hold out for a better deal. (We're also told that the 49ers have included language that would make certain escalators subject to forfeiture, too.)
Meanwhile, the deal falls well short of the mark for which Crabtree and agent Eugene Parker were aiming -- the five-year, $38.25 million contract paid by the Raiders to receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey, the seventh overall pick in the draft.
Even if Crabtree successfully voids the final year, he'll make more than $2 million per year less on average than Heyward-Bey.
Thus, as we explained earlier in the day, this is a deal that Crabtree could have done in July, which would have given him a much better chance of making a contribution to the 49ers during his rookie year.
So while the final outcome can be described as win-win, the broader view suggests that it's really a lose-lose situation.
To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your college football betting needs.
Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting